


The First Drop

by straightforwardly



Category: The Immortals - Tamora Pierce, Tortall - Tamora Pierce
Genre: Brief Mentions of Past Canonical Domestic Abuse, Canon Compliant, Female Friendship, Gen, Misses Clause Challenge, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-20
Updated: 2014-12-20
Packaged: 2018-03-02 09:57:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2808311
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/straightforwardly/pseuds/straightforwardly
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A brief moment between Daine and Onua the day after the spidrens attack. Set during the beginning of <i>Wild Magic</i>.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The First Drop

**Author's Note:**

  * For [acquiredsight](https://archiveofourown.org/users/acquiredsight/gifts).



> At mentioned in the summary, this story is set in the beginning of _Wild Magic_. Specifically, it's set during the time Daine and Onua are making their way to Corus.
> 
> The title comes from this stanza from a [poem](http://clementinepoetry.com/post/95144402809/when-you-are-13-years-old-the-heat-will-be) by Clementine von Radics:
> 
> _You are the first drop of a hurricane._   
> _Your bravery builds beyond you. You are needed_   
> _by all the little girls still living in secret,_   
> _writing oceans made of monsters and_   
> _throwing like lightning._
> 
> acquiredsight, I hope you enjoy this.

Onua ducked out of the tent, thoroughly sick of thinking about Stormwings and spidrens and Horse-Lords-knew-what other unholy spawn of animal and man was out there. She let the tent flap fall closed, cutting off the soft sound of Arram and Alanna's continuing discussion, and rubbed at her forehead, wincing at the glare of the noon-day sun. 

She wrinkled her nose— an acrid stench still lingered in the air from when they had burned the spidren corpses earlier that day— and glanced over the campsite. It was near empty, save for a few industrious figures scurrying about; most of the people Alanna had brought with her were in the forest, searching for any trace of more of those creatures.

She shook her head, and, after grabbing some brushes, started off to where the herd of ponies was huddled, away from the trees. Horse Lords, she _would_ have five minutes free from thinking about those creatures. 

Onua hadn't been looking for company, but she was neither surprised nor displeased when Daine popped up from behind one of the ponies— a pretty blue roan— as she neared. Clearly, Onua hadn't been the only one with the idea to groom them; a brush of her own dangled from Daine's hand. Cloud hovered not far behind her, as though she was watching over her.

_I suppose she is_ , Onua thought. There was an odd thought. 

"Onua? I thought you was with the Lioness, looking after—" Daine hesitated for a moment, trying to pick her words. "—the patient?"

Onua gave her a wry smile. "I was. Thought I'd check on the ponies before I went mad in there."

Something in Daine's face dimmed, briefly. Before Onua could even begin to decide whether or not she should ask what was wrong— at times, sadness weighed on Daine like a blanket, and left her as skittish as a young mare— the look faded, and Daine was asking, "He's that ornery?"

It took Onua a moment to realize that she was referring to Arram. "Oh, no— no more so than he ever is when he's sick." 

As she spoke, Daine returned to brushing the blue, though she was clearly still listening. 

Another pony— this one a soft grey gelding— butted up against Onua's shoulder, and she reached up to pat his neck. She turned, and began to work the brush in a circular motion down his neck as she continued. "But he has those spidrens on his mind— who doesn't?— and we've talked of little else all morning." She glanced over the rest of the herd as she spoke. "I thought I'd take a break, check on the herd."

"The ponies are a fair bit nicer to think about," Daine agreed. 

She did not expand further, did not say, _less wrong too_ , but she didn't need to. Their bodies may have been now turned to ash, but Onua had not forgotten her first glimpse of the spidrens— had not forgotten what it was like to see those feline fangs, glinting in the moonlight, extending from an unsettlingly human-like face. 

Daine had shot one of them, Onua recalled. She looked over at the girl, focusing on the soft smile that had crept onto her face unheeded as she finished brushing the blue. Here, with neither bow nor arrows in sight, only the stubborn lilt of her chin betrayed that she was anything worth reckoning with. Had Onua come across her as she travelled, she wasn't sure that she would have guessed that she was anything more than a simple country girl with her pony, dressed as she was in those plain, heavy woolen skirts, let alone the kind of shot Onua knew she was. 

She frowned, a thought occurring to her. "If you were attacked, and didn't have your bow, what would you do?"

Daine shrugged. "Hit them with a stick?" She stepped out from behind the pony, giving it one last pat on the rump before letting it go. "Or my dagger," she added, almost an afterthought, as her hand unconsciously brushed against where it was strapped to her waist. 

As she moved on to the next pony— this one a frisky, cream-colored creature— Onua followed, her frown deepening. "And if you have neither?"

Daine blinked, looking back at her. "I dunno," she finally admitted.

Onua shook her head. Memories— _the harsh pant of her husband's breath as he raised his hand, again and again— Tahoi, nosing at her face, the blood crusting her eye shut blurring her vision, his low whine the only thing keeping her from giving in to the heaviness clouding her mind and begging her to slip away_ — flooded her mind, even as she pushed them away. "Do you know how to fight without a weapon at all?"

Daine shook her head.

"We'll have to fix that, then." Onua's tone left no room for argument. "That's something every woman— especially women travelling alone— needs to know."

Interest sparked in Daine's eyes; Onua was glad to see it. "You'll teach me?"

She nodded. "Not today— I suspect Arram and the Lioness will be keeping me busy. But once she and her knights leave— Arram'll need a couple more days to heal before we can travel. We can start then. That alright with you?"

Daine nodded, unable to hide a touch of eagerness. Her hand dropped back down to her waist, brushing against her dagger. "I'd like that."

"Good." Onua gave a short nod.

They worked in comfortable silence for some minutes after that, with only the soft huffs of the ponies' breaths and the soft sound of the brush moving across the ponies' bodies breaking the quiet. 

After Onua had finished grooming a few of the ponies, she glanced up at the sky, and grimaced. 

Daine caught the look. "Something wrong?"

Onua shook her head. "Only that I'd best be getting back to the tent. They'll be missing me, soon enough." Reluctantly, she pulled away from the last pony she'd finished grooming, taking in one last breath of its comfortable, earthy horse-scent. 

Daine nodded in understanding. "I'll finish up the rest of the herd."

Onua sent her a quick, knowing grin. "And take care of the King's Own's horses too while you're at it, I'll wager."

Daine ducked her head, a bit shyly. "If that's alright."

Onua snorted. "'Course it is. They'd count themselves blessed to have you look over their horses, if they knew anything at all. Between you and me, you've got the better bargain."

A pleased flush climbed up Daine's cheeks, but she didn't contradict her. _Good_ , Onua thought. Her family's deaths may have left her skittish, but for all her shyness there was steel in her yet. 

She favored Daine with another smile, and resisted the urge to give her a quick hug, if only because she was not yet sure if Daine would welcome it. "I'll see you again at dinner. And tomorrow, I'll start teaching you how to fight without weapons."

Daine answered her with a smile of her own— a real one, broad and bright. 

And as Onua turned away, and began to return to the tent and her discussions with Arram and the Lioness, she knew that not even the memory of the spidrens would diminish the pleasure and warmth which seeing that smile come to life brought.

**Author's Note:**

> Onua's not a character I ever thought I'd write about, but for some reason, when I read your request for a scene from another character's POV, she's the one who came to mind. I didn't end up writing about my original idea, but that initial spark combined with your request for a missing scene culminated in this. In particular, it was inspired by the following line:
> 
> _Onua and Daine spent the next day exercising the ponies and practicing hand-to-hand combat, something Onua said a woman alone should know._  
>  — _Wild Magic_ by Tamora Pierce


End file.
